Perferred storing method for aging/resting?

Tead Off wrote:From my experience, the difference between keeping a tea in a foil bag and putting it into a ceramic container is big. In fact, the first thing I do routinely, when I get a new tea, is take it out of the bag/pouch and into a container. Why does this improve the tea's flavor and aroma? I would only be guessing, but it's apparent. I have no way of knowing if it's the humidity, oxygen, or whatever that is making the difference. But, I do know it works.

You do this in order to drink the oolong within a short period of time, not for a long term storage, right?

Yes, short term. My post was in reference to Stephane's blog article on tea containers. I have no experience with long term storing of teas except puerh.

Tead Off wrote:From my experience, the difference between keeping a tea in a foil bag and putting it into a ceramic container is big. In fact, the first thing I do routinely, when I get a new tea, is take it out of the bag/pouch and into a container. Why does this improve the tea's flavor and aroma? I would only be guessing, but it's apparent. I have no way of knowing if it's the humidity, oxygen, or whatever that is making the difference. But, I do know it works.

You do this in order to drink the oolong within a short period of time, not for a long term storage, right?

Yes, short term. My post was in reference to Stephane's blog article on tea containers. I have no experience with long term storing of teas except puerh.

Well, I thought that Stephane's article was in reference to medium/long term storage, considering the fact that he stored that oolong for six years.

I agree to the fact that once we have decided to drink a certain amount of oolong, some air is good, probably because the leaves need some oxygen to wake up, but not humidity at all.

Yes, but he also talked about the short term differences. I would think for long term storage, you want to minimize the oxidation. His teacher recommends putting an undyed piece of cloth between the lid and container of the tea jar to minimize airflow. This is how I've seen traditional aging done. Or, put them in large tin/pewter cannisters which also seem to be traditional and minimize airflow. Don't take anyone's word for all of this. Do your own experiments and see what's best.

Tead Off wrote:From my experience, the difference between keeping a tea in a foil bag and putting it into a ceramic container is big. In fact, the first thing I do routinely, when I get a new tea, is take it out of the bag/pouch and into a container. Why does this improve the tea's flavor and aroma? I would only be guessing, but it's apparent. I have no way of knowing if it's the humidity, oxygen, or whatever that is making the difference. But, I do know it works.

Are there any specific teas that you've noticed the largest difference with?

Tead Off wrote:From my experience, the difference between keeping a tea in a foil bag and putting it into a ceramic container is big. In fact, the first thing I do routinely, when I get a new tea, is take it out of the bag/pouch and into a container. Why does this improve the tea's flavor and aroma? I would only be guessing, but it's apparent. I have no way of knowing if it's the humidity, oxygen, or whatever that is making the difference. But, I do know it works.

Are there any specific teas that you've noticed the largest difference with?

The article mentions both "aged" and "rested" teas, but I think the distinction is a very blurry one. No one sells oolong as "rested" oolong, it will almost always be labelled as "aged" if it has been sitting for a while. I'm sure a big reason for this is that "aged" is a more exotic term that will attract more buyers, but this brings up more questions:

When does a rested tea become an aged tea? How does humidity come into play here? Words...

The article talks about aged teas being at least 10 years old. This is probably a good starting point for most oolongs. Roasting usually plays a big role in aged teas. The skill of the tea master in keeping the roast from destroying the essential nature of the tea is very important.

Many drinkers feel that some oolongs are better drunk 1 or 2 years after 'resting'. There is talk of Dancong teas getting better after a couple of years of resting. I drank a dancong tea the other day that I have kept for at least 5 years. It is more mellow than it was and its aroma has changed to something more complex. It has been kept in a metal canister the whole time.

I thought that resting was referred to a short period of time, just to stabilize the tea, for example to air some oolong kept in vacuum sealed bag, or in a sealed jar, while aging tea was referred to a medium/long period of time, not to stabilize but to age the tea. It is also true that, at the end of a period of aging more or less long, the resting phase is often necessary.

I also have to say that in my opinion, the perception of aging depends greatly on the type of tea with which we are dealing.For example, if I age for 10 years the same batch of tea, a portion of this more oxidized and with a medium/high roasting level, and another portion of this batch less oxidized and roasted at a medium level, I think that the first batch could show more effects of the aging process than the second batch.